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I am hoping that someone who has taken a cruise tour to the Copper Canyon will respond. For a tour that leaves before dawn and returns very late at night (relying on 2 buses and a 6 hour train ride), I don't see how a private tour for this particular place would be possible. Who would take chances on a tour that takes 17 hours under ideal conditions?

Sorry you were disappointed, Alexandra. I hope they will set up a second group.

Any place will do shellac on the toes if you wish, but most women don't bother because even regular polish lasts a long time on the toes.

They are based on temperature, so if you go out in the bright sunlight or cold they will change, if you wash your hands in cold water they change, etc. Fun.

I love the colour changers. :)

I love fitkiks, they have them at Kohls online, I'm not sure if they have them in the store.

Do you use them for swimming much? Do they stay on well in the water or do they get loose? They are designed like typical swim shoes but people seem to be using them for everything but, according to the reviews.

I like the tropical design and would not mind getting a pair. Thanks.

My wife went with the classic French manicure (with a twist) her girl gave her little palm trees with coconuts! for a fun little cruise theme.

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I have never seen a design on a French manicure. Cute.

I always make a big deal out of choosing the perfect cruise pedi design. This year we cruised around the Horn and my DH was excited about seeing penguins. Of course I had to get a cute little penguin design on my big toes. People may not remember my face but so many people look at my toes and say, "oh, you were on that.....excursion with us". :p

For my birthday last year I chose a cupcake with a candle- my toes are not large enough to display the correct number. LOL

One day 6 women were standing around waiting at the dock for our menfolk who had gone to make arrangements. I suddenly looked downwards as the 6 of us stood in a tight circle chatting. Six colourful sets of toes pointed inward to set up the perfect picture. We all laughed but for some reason not one of us took a picture. I wish I had.

Okay, so I'm weird about the ocean, and I don't like the idea of stepping on sharp rocks/jellyfish/those crazy flatfish. I want to get a pair of water shoes, just to have something on my feet while I'm in the water.

 

BUT most water shoes are either quite ugly ("standard" water shoes) or really heavy because they're not designed to be worn while swimming (ie Keens).

 

So anyone found some shoes that are good to be worn in the water, but still look reasonable with a swimsuit?

 

I've already got a strike against me being a fat girl in a bikini (my mother can shove it =P), so I'm trying not to look ABSOLUTELY ridiculous, lol. We'll be in Bermuda so I feel like I need to at least TRY to look like a normal human.

But that isn't what the OP asked for. I was responding to HER query. She wasn't looking for a full service protective bootie.

 

I personally am not a beach person. I avoid them most of the time. And when I cannot, I wear my tevas because I can hike in them. Or I'm barefoot, because I'm ok with that.

Hoyaheel, you have admitted that you are not a beach person, so why are you so belligerent to someone who does understand their needs?

Swimshoes are not "full service protective booties". Google them. They are inexpensive, take up next to no room, lightweight, easy to pack, and would fit every requirement except that they do not make a fashion statement. Lifeguards wear them on both beaches and at pools. The OP could wear those cute jelly shoes until she gets into the water. She can then slip on something appropriate for swimming and no one will even see them!

Just remember to take off your socks when you go in the booth. A friend got a spray tan pre-cruise a few years ago absent-mindedly left her ankle socks on. She went on the cruise with quite the farmers tan down there, LOL.

That is funny. I can just picture all those farmers out there on tractors wearing only socks. LOL

Thanks for the laugh.

Did you happen to look at the link? Wasn't a clog style croc - was a sandal with ankle straps.....

The Isabella T-Strap is described as "easy slip on", which means it is also "easy slip out of". Very cute but not suitable for wearing in water.

If you have ever had a jellyfish tentacle wrap around your foot or gotten a slug caught between your toes, you would appreciate that it is worth it to wear a dorky looking $20 pair of swim shoes. And with all the glass and needles on the beach today, I would never go swimming without them.

I got a gel mani pedi for my last cruise and was thrilled with how well it held up. After about 3 weeks the nails still looked good - until they started to break off near the base!!

My DD tells me that she can use some gels but not others. Some are very hard on the nails (in both senses of the word).

I lost the entire nail on one big toe. It was really painful at first, but the nail is growing back in - in a really rough and irregular way. It might never look the same. :(

My SO and looking at Viking Star for our next cruise to the Caribbean, and in looking at their website I'm struggling a bit to picture what exactly an "elegant casual" outfit would be for me. Does that mean heels and a cocktail type dress? or would flats or low wedge dressier sandals and a jersey dress with a wrap be acceptable?

 

A cocktail dress would never be considered "casual", however elegantly.

Elegantly casual could be something decent you wear to go out with friends, as opposed to something you grub around the house in. A jersey dress would be lovely, or just slacks with a nice top. Once you see how everyone else is dressed, you will wonder why you worried.

I am trying to help my mom find a really good bathingsuit. She is a size 2 or 4 and want something that will be proportionally well on top (she is a C) and covers the fanny really well. Any website and recommendations would be appreciated.

She might like one with a skirt. I have a cute one that I feel comfortable in when I am spending more time out of the water. It covers the top of the thigh and is very flattering.

I can't believe I'm saying this on the internet, but those Crocs are actually kind of perfect? Crap.

Don't wear Crocs if you are going to wade in shallow water- they will get sucked in, then will get carried off to sea. As I rescued one Croc that came back on the next wave, the second shoe would get carried off. :D

If you are going to use these shoes for swimming you will want a swim shoe, not a water shoe. Water shoes or sandals are meant to give you good traction going into and out of water, but are not meant for swimming. Swim shoes are more like ankle socks and are very lightweight but have enough of a sole to protect your feet on the beach or in water. You wouldn't wear them on a hike, but they will get you across hot pavement or gravel on the way to the beach. They are also cheap. Good water shoes are not.

We were on Norwegian last year and because we had bought the OBC we went to the cashier cage and were not charged a fee. If our travel agent had put OBC on our account we would have been charged. We had $2,000 total OBC and withdrew enough to play with and shore excursion money for the next day. Hope this helps.

 

Trish

We purchased our OBC directly from Norwegian and still had to pay the fee. Not only that, we had originally purchased $2000 OBC but received a phone call as we were heading for airport that they now allow only $1,000. They refunded the difference. :mad: If they are going to change the rules, they should at least let you keep what you have already purchased.

Now that's funny!:D If you are free I may ask you to ghost write my next review.:D:D

 

We were also quite taken with Montevideo and look forward to each return trip there.

Awww. That is the loveliest compliment I have received since someone told me the other day that I look terrific - no wrinkles and few people "my age" are so toned. :rolleyes::p

We got a real kick out of how everyone walked around Montevideo sipping mate through their "bombilla". Workers, professionals, families, they all carried a thermos and cup. After a while we really craved a sample of our own, so we walked into a restaurant and ordered mate. The waitress was horrified and told us that it was not for sale in any restaurant. Mate is a very personal thing, we were told.

We were walking out of the restaurant when the waitress came running up to us and told us that one of the kitchen staff was willing to share his mate with us. As DH sipped, the staff all watched carefully to see his reaction (I have a wonderful photo of this). LOL. When we offered to pay, we were told no, that was his private stock and he was happy to share with us.

We later went to a supermarket where we were amazed at the selection of mates on display. Another customer approached us and asked about our particular needs. Do we suffer from sleeplessness or anxiety? Something to help us through stressful days? After we made a choice that he felt suited our needs, he then spent several minutes very carefully explaining to us how to prepare the mate. You fill the cup with tea and then put in about an inch of lukewarm water. Not hot, he stressed, and not cold. Lukewarm. Let that sit for 5 minutes and then fill up to the halfway mark. Finally you can add boiling water and enjoy. I then had to repeat the process to him to satisfy him that I could understand his Spanish. Our lesson took up 20 minutes in all of this kind stranger's day.

Next stop, a street vendor who sold cups and bombillas. For 15 minutes I received a history lesson and advice on choosing the perfect cup and straw for me (my bombilla is self cleaning).

Montevideo is definitely a place that deserves more than one day to visit.

A final tip for anyone offered to share a mate: When someone offers you a drink, etiquette dictates that you finish all tea before the cup is refilled and passed to the next person. Not to finish is rude. I wish I had learned that sooner.

We had the good fortune to follow in Sailor Jack’s footsteps this February, and are happy to report that we had a far less eventful cruise than he and Sailor Jill- and we did get to visit Puerto Madryn and the Falkland Islands.

To our great disappointment, we only spent one day in Montevideo, which we absolutely loved and have even considered as our retirement place in the sun.

The Tira Miszzou remains sunk in the Montevideo harbour and is now a huge tourist draw, visited by thousands of Cruise Critic members every year. There is a life-sized statue of Sailor Jack on the boat that takes you to the site for a modest fee.

The unfortunate soldier who fumbled his bayonet on the day of Jack’s visit will soon be released from prison and hopes to get his old job back. He has practiced every day in his cell in the hopes of redeeming himself on the parade ground one day.

La Chacra Restaurante in Buenos Aires now serves much smaller portions. They were losing all their best waiters due to hernias.

I can't help but wonder what the front of the dress looks like - assuming it has a front :eek:

I tried unsuccessfully to find other pictures of the infamous chain mail dress. Pity. That was a classic. LOL Someone suggested it was worn on a swingers cruise.

So, I have been reflecting on the TP issue on board. Somewhere way back in this thread I think I recall someone saying they disposed of the more "stinky" variety in a bag of some sort and then into the bin.

 

I have been looking for something of this sort and wonder does it need to be a paper type of bag or do you think a plastic type bag would be okay.

 

You will find paper disposal bags already in the washroom and you could always ask for more if necessary. Ours were replaced daily and we always had sufficient. No need to leave anything embarrassing in view and when we got back from breakfast and dinner, the bin had always been emptied so odour was never a problem. Without those handy dandy bags I would have been mortified to leave behind dirty tp, but it was really not such a problem.

When I encountered the same need for putting paper in garbage bins in Chile this winter, I found that after Cuba, I felt quite at home. LOL

I also have the same question. I am cruising in June and want to maximize the $1.07 exchange rate from my booking back in Jan 2015.:D

Aren't you lucky. :)

I cashed mine out in 2 installments of $500. The cashier in the casino asked me if I would be playing the slots or tables. I answered "slots" and headed for a nearby machine to donate $5 to the cause.

I was very relieved that there was no problem cashing out, as I had allowed for this money to pay for excursions to guides who asked to be paid in US.

Despite illness, still enjoyed our holiday, but spent longer doing cafe BOverall and bar crawls rather than running around everywhere. Got a good Cuban experience all the same.

 

I am glad that you were still able to enjoy your holiday in spite of illness and grumpy landlord.

However, you deserve a "make-up" vacation once your husband totally recovers. :)

How wonderfully vivid, burn. :D But for those who are only now finding this site I think it is important that they understand that you have the Spanish language. How we and most envy you that. And as a result it is anticipated that you might be received differently than we unilingual visitors.

 

As you have previously indicated, when visiting Cuba one must disregard all acquired misconceptions or prejudices and see the country with a totally open mind. I have compared my experiences with those of others who had taken the very same tour and yet the details I could relate to made them wonder if they were on a totally different tour. The object is to see what is there and why, not what aught to be there because...

I should point out that Pototo's English is quite good. My husband does not speak a word of Spanish and got along very well with him. But you are correct - the ability to communicate certainly has enhanced my pleasure in travelling to Latin American countries.

You are so right that we all see the same things differently. I have been on ships that I thought were very nice but others complained that they were dirty and showed signs of wear. There are many people who seem to relate the quality of the cruise with the amount of wear they see in the ship's carpets. LOL The Louis Cristal was a very good example of that.

We did not want to go on a set trip as we wanted to decide how long we wanted were, but one night did not give us long. We arranged the casa and Connectando transfers via Cubanacan rep in our Havana hotel. There were some snags with our Casa, but that is how it goes with Casa's - overall an experience though that is not appropriate to go into here. Perhaps we did the wrong thing saying we wanted to see all sights in Vinales when we went on our local taxi tour. Did you get to a real plantation rather than the mock up that was with the slave cave complex? I have heard from a few people that the day trips do the same place as we did, hence my advice to the earlier question. I think you need to spend a couple of days there as you had suggested at a similar time to when I posted.

 

We have recently returned home and a lot of experiences are in our mind from this and a previous trip (6 weeks in all - 5 in hotels). By comparison to all our other experiences, Vinales village did seem touristy and our Cuban tour company rep in a hotel agreed Vinales is very touristy - there is a constant coach run of the 'attractions' and the village is full of cafes etc.

 

We had an interesting view of the medical services there though, as my husband needed them at 3 bases in Cuba - It is easy to see how different medical services are in Havana and places like Vinales, and between tourist medical facilities and local ones. Havana was the best, but not getting the treatment he would have had at home has probably left him to expect a much longer recovery time. He had shingles which went into his eye - luckily it looks like his eyesight will recover though.

We did see a real tobacco farm and did not see the "slave caves" or complex. What sort of complex?

In fact, our stop at the tobacco farm was unscheduled - we stopped there due to car problems. :)

Ouch to the shingles in the eye. How painful that must have been! I had the vaccine but DH did not and he got them on his lower back. That was bad enough - I can't imagine having them in a far more sensitive area like eyes or, shudder, groin.

I have to admit that I am intrigued about your Casa experience. Our first place had a broken water pump one day (4 plumbers worked half the night to jury rig replacement parts) and our landlady was unhappy because her neighbours expected her to pay the entire bill, seeing as they considered her rich because of her tourist business. Once again, the experience gave us insight into what it is like to live in Cuba.

We did an overnight in a Casa in Vinales from our Havana hotel and still only had the time to see a sort of mock up of a tobacco farm as is visited on the trips. I had spoken to someone who had spent 2 or 3 nights in Vinales and they had gone on a horse ride to visit real plantations. The mock up was a small group of tobacco plants and a drying shed which was empty and a guy who was more interested in selling cigars than explaining anything about the tobacco production. The trips visit lots of places and you will spend about 2.5 hours travelling each direction, so I suggest you enjoy Havana whilst on the cruise and plan a return when restrictions ease (if you are from the US) when you could spend a couple of days in Vinales. Having said that, we were disappointed in Vinales village as it was very touristy, so not sure we would want to return. Not the experience we had hoped for.

 

I read your post to DH and he was astounded at how different your experience was to our own. We felt like the only foreigners in a time warp.

Even a washroom stop was interesting. When I told Pototo that I needed a pit stop, to my horror he pulled up in front of a private home and asked the owner if I could use her washroom. The lady was a very large black woman whose appearance, husky voice and deep belly laugh, and larger than life personality would have delighted any casting director. I was treated like a long lost friend and offered a Cuban coffee before we left. I appreciated the opportunity to visit a typical Cuban country home, which was like a tidy little doll house.

Here is the link to Pototo's website.

In Cuba you have to assume that nothing will ever go as planned. There are always problems! This was certainly true of our days with Pototo, but somehow our time with him always turned out even more interesting than expected. We gained an appreciation for the problems that Cubans face on a daily basis, and how their ingenuity and good nature overcomes these difficulties.

http://pototocuba.com/Pototow/

Thank you! He is into agriculture and really wants to see a farm. I was just reading about Vinales and it sounds like what he would want. Hopefully there is a tour that goes there.

The Vinales area is very beautiful and I would think that anyone interested in agriculture would find it especially fascinating. It is like going back in a time machine. You might want to consider staying in a Casa Particular there for a couple of nights after the cruise.

We took a day tour to Vinales (from Havana) with Pototo. It was interesting, to say the least.

Pototo also knows where to find all the best food in Cuba at very low prices. :D